


Finding your way home

by NYWCgirl



Category: White Collar
Genre: Fever, Gen, Hurt/Comfort, Kidnapping, Non-Consensual Drug Use, Serious Injuries
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-02-25
Updated: 2019-02-25
Packaged: 2019-11-05 12:53:22
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,498
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17919149
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/NYWCgirl/pseuds/NYWCgirl
Summary: Neal has been kidnapped. Peter turns every stone but can´t find Neal. Then one evening there is a sound in the back yard.





	Finding your way home

**Author's Note:**

> This fic is written for the February Challenge of H/C Bingo.  
> Prompts were Wild card (fever), infected wounds, touch starved, Forced to hurt someone.

‘SWAT-leader, you have a visual?’

‘Yes, I have a confirmed visual. Get ready, we breach on a count of three. Three, Two, One… Go!Go!Go!’

Peter watches as the SWAT-team forces their way into the building. Every fiber in his body screams to get out there and enter the building as well, but he knows he can´t. He is lucky they allow him in the van. The SWAT-leader will let him know when the situation in safe to come in.

‘SWAT-leader to base. All clear. POI is in custody. We need a medic.’

Paramedics run towards the building followed by Peter. Once inside, he can hear the commotion in the living room and the Paramedics are already working on their suspect. The SWAT-leader walks up to him.

‘Kyle, talk to me. Did you find him?’

‘Sorry peter, he isn´t here. My men searched all the rooms. They are clear. He is not here.’

Peter turns towards their suspect when Kyle holds him back, ‘no offense, Peter, but this is too personal. Let us handle him. We will find Neal.’

‘Kyle, I…’

‘Peter, don´t make me escort you outside.’

A hand is put on his shoulder and Peter deflates.

‘Peter, let´s go. Jones will take care of the scene. I’ll drive you home.’ Diana offers.

‘Thanks.’

 

* *  *

 

Peter is sitting at the dining table, his re-heated plate of food forgotten on the table. Satchmo longingly staring at it. He re-reads the file again, checking his notes.

Satchmo suddenly loses all interest for the food and walks up to the back door, tail wagging.

‘What is it, boy?’

Satchmo gives a single bark. Peter gets up, grabbing his gun from its holster. He quietly approaches the door, not sure what to expect since Satchmo is displaying such strange behavior. Normally he barks his head off at strangers, cats and squirrels. So it must be something familiar. He takes the doorknob in his hand, slowly turning it and pulling the door open. There is no movement as far as he can see.

‘Is there someone?’

Satchmo pushes himself passed the open door into the dark, whining. When there is no sound or movement, Peter steps out into the dark. Satchmo is standing next to something… someone…

‘Oh my God! Neal!’

Peter falls to his knees next to Neal.

‘Neal?’ Come on, open your eyes.’

Neal doesn´t respond, so Peter taps him in the face. When he doesn´t respond, Peter tries to pick him up, but he must aggravate some injury, because Neal´s eyes snap open. Wide unfocused eyes staring at him.

‘Neal? You with me?’

Neal only stares at him, but the way his huge pupils are unfocused, Peter knows, Neal is drugged up to the gills.

‘Neal, I am going to pull you up and we are going inside, OK?’

Neal doesn´t give any indication that he has heard Peter and he doesn´t make any movement to get up, so Peter pulls him up. Neal cries out and whimpers, trying to curl up into a ball to get away from Peter. Peter lets go, not sure what happened, he tries to coax Neal to get up by himself, but it is just all too much and Neal goes limp. Peter quickly takes Neal in a fireman´s carry. It is not that he can carry Neal in any other way through the door. Once inside he puts Neal on the couch. His breath hitches when he gets a good look at his CI. Neal has a nice shiner and his lip is split and swollen on the left side. Blood has trickled down his neck down his back. But what is really worrisome are Neal´s wrists. They are torn. There is still metal wire wrapped around them. Whoever held Neal, he had wrapped metal wire around Neal´s writs so tight, it cut through skin and flesh. The stench coming from them indicating Neal developed a serious infection. The heat coming off Neal can also explain Neal´s lack of recognition.

Peter grabs his cell phone from the table and calls 911, before calling Jones and Diana to come to his place.

 

* *  *

 

Peter startles awake when a nurse enters Neal´s room. After he was checked out in the ER, he had been taken into surgery for debridement of his wounds.

By the time Neal was wheeled into his room, it was around three in the morning. Peter had explained he needed to stay until he could arrange a protection detail in the morning, because whoever did this to Neal could still be out there. The night staff and taken pity in him and had wheeled in a chair that could recline, he hadn´t taken long before Peter was asleep.

The nurse that entered, Suzy, comes to check Neal´s fever and smiles at Peter, asking if he needs another blanket.

‘How is he doing?’

‘Well, all things considering. His fever is still higher than we like, so I will inform the attending. While she talks, she also changes out an empty bag of antibiotics.

‘Any idea when he is going to wake up?’

‘We don´t have him on anything that will sedate him, but with the kind of trauma he went through and the amount of drugs in his system, it is almost impossible to tell. He will wake up when he is ready. I´m going to look for the attending.’

‘Thanks.’

Once Suzy left the room, Peter gets up, trying to get the kinks out of his neck. He uses the bathroom, splashing some water in his face. He will need to call Jones who came to his house to make sure all evidence is secured. But that will have to wait until morning. He walks back towards Neal´s bed.

‘Come on, Neal. You’re safe. You did good.’

He puts his hand on Neal´s shoulder and almost immediately the numbers on the monitor start to increase. It is clear the contact has an impact. Suzy enters the room again and smiles when she sees Peter is just holding her patient.

‘I didn´t do anything.’ Peter immediately states.

‘I know, but he is responding to your touch. I’m just here to make sure you both don´t get overwhelmed.’

‘I think we will be alright.’

‘Law enforcement, right? I she your partner?’

‘Is it that obvious?’

‘Well, it is clear he knows it is you and not whoever did this to him.’

Peter raises his eyebrows, how can you tell?’

‘His heartrate and blood pressure raised, but not to alarming levels, so he isn´t panicking. He takes comfort in your presence. Talk to him, he can hear you.’

Peter looks at Neal skeptical, but decides he needs to cowboy up.

‘Hey Neal, you’re safe, you are in hospital. You did good, you got yourself out and found your way home.’

Suzy smiles and gives Peter an encouraging nod. He lets go of Neal’s shoulder and takes his hand. Neal frowns, it probably is uncomfortable, but Peter needs him to wake up. His eyes start to move behind their lids, and it is clear he is trying to wake up.

‘Hey Neal, Peter here tells me you are quite the patient. Can´t wait to get some of that Caffrey charm myself. What about you open those baby blues for me.’

Suzy meticulously studies Neal´s vitals.

‘You’re doing good Neal, can you open your eyes for me?’

After what feels like forever, Neal´s eyes slowly open to slits.

‘There you are!’ Suzy says cheerful.

‘Hey Neal, welcome back.’

Neal´s eyes track them but are totally unfocused. He sighs, his brows knitting together and he is clearly in pain.

‘Neal, are you in pain?’

Neal croaks something, but it is clear that his throat also hurts him.

‘It´s OK, Neal, I will up your pain medication now that you are awake.’

Panic flashes through Neal´s eyes and he starts to get up. Peter, in a reflex to restrain Neal, grabs his wrists. Neal´s eyes have lost all recognition and he cries out in pain when Peter takes his wrists. He immediately lets go, apologizing.

Neal whimpers and tries to back away, but when his eye catches the syringe Suzy is holding, he panics. The monitor starts to wail, two other nurses enter the room and together they are able to keep Neal in the bed. Suzy already injected a sedative in Neal´s IV line that miraculously didn´t get torn out when Neal started thrashing.

Neal´s eyes start to droop, Peter mumbling apologies while he carts his hands through Neal´s hair. Neal´s head turns towards Peter and he leans into the gentle touch, his eyes closing, not able to fight the sedative any longer.

‘It´s OK Neal, you found your way home. We will take care of you. You’re going to be fine.’


End file.
